The Chinese View of Wildlife

Abstract

China is ‘conservation conscious’ in its attitude towards wildlife, for economic reasons, and is far ahead of most other countries in the rational use of wildlife. Many species, including tigers and black bears, are used for traditional medicines, and many for food. In the densely populated areas little wildlife is left, but the country is so vast, occupying one-seventh of the world’s land surface, and has such a variety of habitats, including some very forbidding ones, that much survives. The authors, who visited north-east China in the summer of 1980, assess what is known and what they saw, and look at some of the problems the Government faces in its conservation programme. © 1982, Fauna and Flora International. All rights reserved.